You know, I have been thinking about this whole Jim Rome thing, and I kink of feel like those of us in the band world are betraying who we are a bit. Obviously, we need to stand up to those who encourage bullyish stereotypes, and all of us in the band world have experienced those. But when he criticizes us for not being cool, I am not sure I have a problem with that. You see, having grown up in the sports world as well as the band world, there are differences. In sports, being the guy really matters. Everyone wants to be the star...and we openly applaud those who sacrifice their own glory. But that is exactly what band is. EVERYONE is the guy that we applaud for sacrificing personal glory for the group. Band kids dont care about whether or not the world thinks that they, as an individual, are cool, but rather about whether or not the band is achieving. That is the beauty of band. We work together, not for coolness, but rather for excellence. That is where guys like Jim Rome just dont get it. In band, we dont care about the personal accolades, but rather about the group. Of course, in my opinion, by the standards that matter, I think band kids are actually pretty cool. Why? Because band kids dont care if they are cool. They dont care if you are skinny or fat. Tall our short. strong or weak. They only care that you are there to do a job. There is no picking on the weak kids in band...rather we build them up so that they are stronger. We dont bury the struggling kid on the bench, we help them...teach them...until they can fulfill their potential. We welcome newcomers as new members of the family...not as a threat. We dont need the spotlight on us...as long as it is on the group. We care about eachother as a second family, no matter what the other person is like. If you want to work hard and have high expecitations...you are part of us. We take everybody, not jsut the cool kids, because in or field everybody matters. There is no room for putting people down...we are too busy striving for perfection. THAT IS COOL! So, I have seen a bunch of people saying that the Jim Romes of the world need to go try to do drill or march a parade, but I dont think that is the right idea. I think he just needs to hang out with a high school band on the week of a competition. Come to Westlake, Jim. See the hours of planning and correcting the staff put in. See how we fret about the tiniest mistake and try desperately to figure out how to get that 9th grade boy who grew two feet in the last six months to get some coordination. See the parents...the true unsung heroes of the band. See the hours they spend fitting uniforms, designing and making props, hauling equipment to and from the field (for rehearsal and performance). See the money they spend on food, supplies, gas to and from competitions. But, most importantly, see the kids. See them come off the field after a brilliant performance beaming. See them in tears because they dropped a rifle or missed a note (not upset for themselves, but because they let the group down). See them rally around those in tears because they all know they have made that same mistake. See them care more than you will ever understand. See them support other schools, because we know that our success isnt determined by others, but buy ourselves. So, yes, lets stand up for ourselves, but lets not lose our selves. What makes us cool is that we dont need to be cool. What makes us cool is that anyone, even the Jim Romes of the world, can come into our group, our family, and be welcomed with open arms. We are cool because we take anyone and everyone. Yeah...we are cool, but not because Jim Rome does or doesnt think we are. That doesnt matter.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 20:35:43 +0000
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